Enigma-IS simplifies payroll and HR with ADP iHCM

For those seeking a new payroll and HR solution, I would highly recommend ADP iHCM and ADP’s RTI. In fact, I can highly recommend both the systems and the people

Geoff Hughes CIPD IOSH, Human Resources Director
Enigma-IS

Complex payroll made simple with ADP® iHCM

Enigma Industrial Services Ltd was founded and launched in 2018, following a change in ownership from Interserve PLC (a public limited company). Today, the company employs more than 900 people operating through 14 UK-wide service centres. Delivering scaffolding, insulation, protective coatings, and industrial cleaning services across multiple market sectors for new-build, refurbishment, project, outage, or maintenance contracts.

The pitfalls of a legacy payroll partner

A “Transitional Service Agreement” was in place for a short period following the sale and covered key services, including payroll. Following the completion of the TSA, a number of essential system transitions were already underway; therefore, we moved the Payroll system to the back end of the program and continued to utilise the service. However, the situation rapidly became untenable as the service provider’s process was predominantly Excel-based and unable to provide the analytics we needed.

So, early in 2022, Enigma’s Human Resources Director, Geoff Hughes, and his team went to market for a new payroll partner. Geoff says, “Initially, we compiled a list of a dozen or so potential payroll providers. This we whittled down to just three in an intensive two-day period before finally opting for ADP.”

He adds that the key considerations were: from a business continuity perspective, ADP is a large, international provider with a substantial local presence and backup here in the UK, which we were more than comfortable with. Pricing wasn’t a major concern as the costs were competitive for the services and functionality offered. Another key consideration for Geoff and his team was that ADP’s solutions could provide accurate, real-time reporting and analytics — resources that could be compiled and run quickly and easily to improve decision-making. And last but far from least, the ADP team were confident that they could manage our complicated set of payrolls, we have five, which are fixed across seven working rule agreements.”

ADP has delivered on the promise and potential

Geoff and his team opted for ADP’s Integrated Human Capital Management (iHCM) solution. This is a cloud-based system that’s designed to integrate payroll, HR administration, time and attendance, real-time reporting and talent management into a single system.

The real-time information (RTI) feature in ADP iHCM was invaluable to Enigma, enabling it to gather data from 14 sites across the country into its payroll system.

What’s more, with the right security protocols in place, Enigma’s people can effectively ‘self-serve.’ From HR and payroll teams to employees in the field, they can access the information they want and complete the tasks they need to do via a mobile phone, a digital device or a laptop.

And ADP iHCM is also scalable, so it can evolve as Enigma’s business does. It also provides compliance support, giving Geoff’s team the peace of mind of knowing they’re up to date on complex labour laws.

Add-ons that add up to enhanced speed and simplicity

Geoff has also added the API module (application programme interfaces) to the Enigma-IS iHCM system,
to connect systems and reduce manual updates.

Those two integration tools from ADP’s API Central include:

• A connector that updates starters and leavers across other business systems
• An interface that manages checks, references and vetting. This is especially important for those staff who work in highly secure areas or with children or vulnerable adults.

Staying on the right side of the law

The most recent addition to Enigma’s ADP lineup is ADP HR Everywhere. This is a one-stop HR legal support solution to enable clients to stay ahead of ever-evolving employment law. This service gives Geoff and his team fast, easy access to expert help and guidance to ensure they avoid the risk of costly compliance errors.

Putting the new iHCM payroll solution through its paces

Geoff says, “We paid our first staff payroll via ADP iHCM in September 2022. Then, in October, we went live with the first of the three weekly payrolls. We ironed out all the issues as we went. We worked very hard together.”

“These days, we go through the payrolls carefully before each is run. We’ve got a 20-point checklist to satisfy ourselves that it’s right. We then do a final calculation, confirm the payroll’s OK to pay, and it’s paid. It just works.”

“Subsequently, we’ve taken all our people modules that used to reside in Sage and now host them on ADP iHCM to provide us with a more integrated solution. We’ve done the same for many of our day-to-day HR functions. These range from our training management and matrices for every role in the business to car and IT equipment management for new starters. We are always looking at ways additional ADP software can support our business.”

“We have a responsibility to pay our people on time and correctly”

Geoff and his team chose an ADP solution to benefit from a more professional service, systems, and reporting. Geoff says, “This year we had just eight payroll errors, all on our side. We went back to the ADP team and asked them to correct them, and they did. If I had to estimate our payroll error rate in recent years, I’d say it’s been 70% less than during our time working with our previous service provider.”

Although Geoff is based at headquarters, he regularly conducts directors’ audits across the sites Enigma has dotted across the UK to gauge the employee experience firsthand.

Geoff says, “I ask our people if they’re getting everything, they need to do the job — and especially if we pay them correctly? They all agree we do. Plus, they like being able to go into ADP iHCM and check their time sheet before we do our calculations, see their payslip before it’s paid and book holidays directly.”

So, would Geoff recommend ADP?

Geoff says, “For those seeking a new payroll and HR solution, I would highly recommend ADP iHCM and ADP’s RTI. In fact, I can highly recommend both the systems and the people.”

“Whatever you want, the ADP team will do their very best to give it to you. I know because we’ve got complicated payrolls. Our payroll report has nearly 150 columns to cover all the worker variables in our business. Still, we only use one payroll report — simple.”

Asking Geoff for just two or three words to sum up his experience of working with ADP? He laughs and answers, “It’s been emotional.”